Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $5.28 Billion Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,228,215 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 41,464 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.6% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,282,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,365,820,000 after buying an additional 4,126,190 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $595,152,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 926.6% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $369,774,000 after acquiring an additional 661,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $285,690,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $559.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $572.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $524.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $313.66 and a 1 year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,054,400. This trade represents a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total value of $469,740.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,627 shares in the company, valued at $20,568,394.35. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 168,843 shares of company stock valued at $92,083,554 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.